you just can't say cheeriup without an exclamation point. try it.
cheeriup (exclamation point!) is a thoughtful new venture by our friend kelly. she takes native recycled willow branches and weaves and maneuvers them into simple yet intricate outdoor or indoor play structures (thickets) for kids of all sizes. i visited her brand new studio space a couple weeks ago and was blown away by both
her process and the seemingly endless compositions and
good bits littered all around her work space.
in kelly's words...
"CHEERIUP Thickets© was born from a desire to provide our spunky, city-mouse daughter a natural and enchanting outdoor play space. I imagined a wholesome place she could call her own, an inspiring
place she and her friends could lose themselves for hours in imaginative
play, a safe place she could escape to for nurturing solitude, and a
timelessly lovely place our entire family could live alongside for years
to come (vs. the onslaught of rainbow-colored plastic or digital
simulacrums that overwhelm new families.) All this, combined with my own
Art, Design, and Education background led to a giant hut made of sticks
in our backyard: a Thicket. The unexpected outcome has been how much our ENTIRE family enjoys the
Thicket. We share shady picnic lunches together, listening to baby
birds cheeping from nests in the tree above. We curl up in blankets,
reading books together on crisp Autumn afternoons. And from time to
time, once our vigorous kidlet has finally fallen asleep for
the night, we parents enjoy an evening glass of wine surrounded by rings
of willow flickering in candlelight. Pure magic.
What will you discover in your dream Thicket?"
a thicket in the works, nearly complete
if you're in minneapolis and want a real cheeriup experience, kelly has been hard at work all week weaving a 9 foot tall thicket that will reside in
michelle's new impeccable, beyond perfect studio space, which is already becoming our new second home (an entry about that coming up, in fact).
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